As a newbie, with no listings, no clients and no sphere of influence...what to do?

Being new to the Bay area, having sold my house in Orlando, not really knowing anyone except my parents, sister and nephew, and starting anew as a REALTOR, I didn't know where and how to begin!

"Homeless, jobless and friendless" were three words I used to describe myself when I moved to the Bay area after being laid off (for the second time) from my corporate position which at one time one would have described as a cradle-to-the-grave job.

In 2003, becoming a REALTOR seemed to be the natural fit for me since I loved architecture and I enjoyed going to Parade of Homes and open houses. So I had to have a plan, a method to get in the game, and quickly!

TAKING ONE STEP AT A TIME.

1. FIND a reputable company to work with. Although I checked out other agencies, some didn't want to hire inexperienced agents, and others didn't provide any kind of training. The company I joined, Gallagher and Lindsey, offered free classes for new and would-be agents.

2. Attend all the free seminars and training classes. At that time, affiliates offered all kinds of classes, including how to read a preliminary report. Some even held classes on how to farm, how to use Office Publisher. And one even had classes on Short Sale, even before the short sale epidemic hit!

3, Select a system. I attended several training seminars by Mike Ferry, By Referral Only, etc. and settled on Working by Referral by Brian Buffini.

4. COme to the office EVERY DAY. This is essential. I listened to the seasoned agents discuss their current challenges, what solutions they undertook, what they would do in such and such a case, whom they trust as a resource, how to write a winning contract, etc.

5. Get a mentor. Not everyone will agree, or should be a mentor. Recognized the ones who are willing to help, and qualified to help and I cultivated the relationship.

6. Offer to do open houses. I have very fond memories of doing my first open house with an agent who showed me the ropes. Where to put directional signs, what to do to prepare for the open house, what information to put on the flyer, etc. Once she was comfortable with how I handled myself, she turned me loose. I've been doing open houses ever since and got my first clients this way. Last year, 15% of my escrows were a direct result of clients I developed during open houses.

7. Read several books on how to be a winning REALTOR. My first book, given to me by my brokers Don Lindsey and Michael Studebaker, and one I've recommended ever since is 21 Things I Wish My Broker Had Told Me by Frank Cook. More books followed, but this one was the easiest and most entertaining.

8. Become an e-PRO. This class was a God-send. It is critically important today since the internet is the most important piece of our marketing today.

9. Create a website. I had so much time (no clients, remember?) that I went ahead and created a website using the free version of Point2Agent, and started searching for content that I could link to. Creating is one thing, however. Maintenance is an ongoing activity. (It is important to note that founder, mover and shaker Saul Klein is guiding both ePRO and Point2Agent)

10. Get domain names and a permanent email address. This is one of the key learnings from e-PRO. So wherever I go, these go with me, regardless of which company work for, or wherever I may move to.

11. Create templates for presentation. My presentation is a living document and continuously evolves. I shared this with my office manager, and a lot of it is now part of the master template used by other agents in my office. I was the first one to get my presentation book-bound, and now, the rest of them do it, too.

12, Employ technology tools.

Researched tools online. Was the first in my office to post open houses on Craigslist. Now, everyone does for all our open houses and new listings.

GPS (Global Positioning System). Since I couldn't afford an expensive GPS system at that time (2003), I found an inexpensive hand-held GPS/PDA called the Garmin ique 3600 which worked beautifully. After I showed my co-agents and associates how this one worked, they got one too. Now, there are so many choices!

PDA (personal digital assistant). Being an early advocate of Palm Pilot, this was a no-brainer. Just hated not having my calendar, tasks and addresses in a handy dandy hand-held device.

Laptop --- couldn't see myself tied down to a desk top.

Digital camera --- back then, there weren't as many inexpensive digital cameras. But it was a must-have.

13. Partner with folks who can help. So I cultivated resourceful and like-minded folks among the title companies, lenders, insurance providers, contractors and other service providers in order to build my network of resources. Some of them helped train me, and pointed me in the right direction, and steered me away from pitfalls.

Now that I am no longer a NEWBIE, I am still on the perpetual search for how to get better and more efficient. And my advice will still be along the lines of what I did as a newbie.

ADD TO THE LIST

1. BLOG! Maximize your internet exposure. Bring more visitors to your website. Build your brand. Is there any doubt that Active Rain helps us in a tremendous way?

2. Create visual tours and videos. Having multiple pictures is good. Having a video or a tour is great!

3. Use DocuSign --- clients are techno-savvy too, and will appreciate the high-tech approach as well.

4. Get a smartphone --- with so many applications available today on a smartphone, a plain phone just won't do. Think of this: even if you don't have a GPS system, with a smartphone, you can download Google Maps, and use that to get directions on where you want to go, and more!

5. Get mentors --- on Active Rain, there are s many mentors who blog and provide wonderful information on a lot of how-tos.

6. Explore other programs and software. One of my favorite tools that I have on both my laptop and my smartphone is Fidelity Agent.

AND...in honor of those who helped me along the way, PAY IT FORWARD!

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